SlaithwaiteMillpond

16/08/2026

Friends of Slaithwaite Millpond update #106

Good news, the Mallards have been hard at work, word got out and the flock size trebled; the algae that had been smothering the millpond and starving it of oxygen has completely gone, thanks to some very enthusiastic grazing from our feathered friends. Corvid intelligence has been extensively studied, ducks; not so much. Given that algae are low in nutritional value, I do wonder if they were doing their own bit of environmental management, I guess we will never know what they were thinking.

We certainly do know what Ecologist Rachel Hepburn from RH Ecological Services is thinking. Rachel's ecological report massively exceeded our expectations and has provided a clear vision of the path to enhanced bio-diversity. As a bonus, we know Rachel had a thoroughly enjoyable time working on the watercourse with people who genuinely love the site, rather than a developer ticking a planning box. We hope to have her back working on the environmental management plan for the restoration works soon.

In perhaps the biggest news event of the year so far, the Dartmouth Estate has agreed to extend the land that will be the subject of our 25-year lease massively to the west. It's flat land, perfect for further community involvement, at least it will be one day. Right now, it's a forest of Himalayan Balsam, Japanese Knotweed and fly-tipping but the potential is clear.

At yesterday's Community Working Party, Kara and Duncan, equipped with what Keith described as "serious kit, not far off Medieval polearms", ventured past the weir. I'm not told how far they went, just that they did come back, inflated by the possibilities and deflated by the mindlessness of fly-tippers in equal measure. The latter being a feeling we know all too well.

They returned to add more detail to our s211 crown lifting application with Kirklees, meanwhile, Paul and Keith created the base for the gabion cage-based stool to complement the bench and of course there was another piece of metal in exactly the wrong place. It wouldn't be a Community Working Party if things didn't randomly turn up to cause the most inconvenience. Still, they also unearthed this action figure, if anyone knows what it is do let us know in the comments.

More from us soon.

07/08/2026

26/07/2026

Friends of Slaithwaite Millpond update #105

It was back to the millpond yesterday for Rhys, Craig and Keith and this time it was the fun bit of the bench building process. The gabion cage bases were filled with smashed up paving slabs which we found dumped and half buried on site. Equal parts anger room therapy and art therapy; as the club hammer went to work turning slabs into rocks, they were artistically placed to create attractive arrangements and of course that all important habitat.

Then it was on to the carpentry part. A frame, meticulously levelled and measured, was constructed from the wood so very kindly donated by Jewson. Previously, old decking planks donated and processed with extreme diligence for screw removal had been prepared by Paul. This formed the seat in yet another great example of repurposing in action.

A final artistic flurry from Craig, aggregates and stones arranged and I think we can all agree; we made a very handsome bench, in fact, it looks more like a sculpture to me!

Many thanks to Taha of Bottomley’s News Agent, who has happily ended up providing us with space in his fridge for our wonderfully chilled bottled water for the workers.

In other matters; the eagerly awaited ecologist’s report will be with us next week, after delays at the laboratory tasked with doing the eDNA testing. In the meantime, all fauna tested came back negative for everything bar the Common Toad (Bufo bufo).

As luck would have it, this makes our recent efforts look particularly well-conceived! Toads spend the winter tucked into cool, damp, frost-free crevices and the gaps between all those smashed-up slabs are just about as good as it gets. So, the slabs someone dumped here years ago have become a bench, a sculpture and an ideal toad hotel. We'll take that as a win.

More from us soon.

19/07/2026

Friends of Slaithwaite Millpond update #104

Listening to Keith’s description of the works progress on the gabion cage-based benches at yesterday’s post-event briefing, I realised that it perfectly epitomises pretty much all of our efforts to date. There’s such a massive amount of work that goes into getting the foundations right.

Footings were dug in what proved to be difficult ground and inevitably random metal was discovered; it just had to be in exactly the worst place it could be! Metal removed, more spadework and meanwhile copious amounts of mot type 1 is being wheelbarrowed from the entrance all the way past the millponds to the perfect bench site.

The cages are being clipped together and the laborious process of crushing in the aggregate to form the foundations begins. And goes on, and on and on, for hours. Until finally, the remarkably robust foundations for one bench are ready; made with a smile and more than one giggle about the absurdity of the hurdles faced and overcome. There is much more to do.

Massive thanks to the amazing people of Ashby’s Café who so kindly provided refreshments gratis and thanks again Stephanie at Jewson for the generously donated materials and for liking our posts.

In other matters, the outstanding efforts from Rhys over so very many working parties were recognised yesterday. We are delighted that Rhys has accepted a FoSM Steward role.

Last but by no means least, we were joined once more by our friendly neighbourhood videographer Robert Kerr. So, we all know what that means.

More from us soon.

16/07/2026

Friends of Slaithwaite Millpond update #103

I’m reasonably confident that our Chair won’t mind me sharing something personal with you. We are both “World Cup Babies” part of the impressive birth rate spike in early ’67. This means that we have been on this planet without England actually winning a World Cup longer than pretty much everybody else. We know disappointment.

What better way to cast aside the disappointment from the exit to Argentina than joining us this Saturday in our battle against the balsam. It’s a really stunning place to be and you can interpret the crushing of Himalayan balsam underfoot as vigorously as you choose. We will also be building some gabion cage-based benches on the day and for those that feel the need for a bit of occupational therapy, why not try some relaxing willow weaving to build natural walls.

The gabion cages will be filled with found items, stones, rubble, bricks etc and will not only make rather handsome bases for the benches, they will also create habitat. Of course, none of this would be possible if not for the continued generosity of your local branch of Jewson who supplied materials gratis, again! Many thanks to Aldi too, for allowing us to borrow a significant part of their carpark.

If you would like to get involved, send me a DM or an email to [email protected] with your contact details.

In other matters, an early result from the eDNA laboratory tests show that Great Crested Newts are not present in the watercourse. Good news and bad. Hopefully, with an improved environment they will come but for the purposes of the restoration, it is actually quite helpful that they aren’t there just yet.

More from us soon.

02/07/2026

Friends of Slaithwaite Millpond update #102

"Four seasons in one day? Welcome to Yorkshire!"

Reacting to an offer of a rapid response team dispatch to join the Battle of the Balsam. Plans were made for a group of volunteers to open up a new front. That was last week and as Oscar Mike approached it became apparent that mid-thirties-degree heat would be the order of the day… abort mission! Regroup and reschedule.

Zero six hundred hours this morning and we were considering another abort mission; this time due to high winds…

Met Office (MO) consulted, eyes on the ground, more accurately eyes in the canopy of trees deployed and rushed to site. Wind direction monitored (a westerly can have a topographic funnelling effect in the valley). It started the day as a westerly threatening gusts. We held our breath, we waited…
..and the wind did exactly what the MO said it would…it changed to a north-westerly… the Valley; a potential foe, became our ally and all we had was the occasional breeze. Thank you, Valley, so glad you aren’t Team Balsam!

Ten hundred hours; battle commenced and much Himalayan balsam was well and truly bashed!

In other matters, following advice from Rachel regarding crown lifting to enhance the forest floor, we completed a tree location survey, with help from the volunteers. All this in preparation for our application to Kirklees.

Of course, today was but another concerted effort to combat the foe encroaching on the village, the war is far from over. We will be back for our regular third Saturday of the month Community Working Party. If you are interested in volunteering send me a DM or an email to [email protected] with your contact details.

Before I go, a massive thanks to Bottomley’s News Agent for agreeing to supply wonderfully chilled bottled water for the volunteers, yet another example of a local business supporting our endeavours. Oddly enough, we have enough left over bottles from today’s event to float a ship but that’s Yorkshire weather for you!

More from us soon.

25/06/2026

Friends of Slaithwaite Millpond update #101

As the PPE dries in the glorious sunshine, I think we can wholeheartedly consider June 2026 a very good month for the watercourse.

This week we had the ecological survey site inspection. The delightful, Rachel Hepburn, from RH Ecological Services has already provided so much helpful information. I’m told: we already have guidance on; where to locate bird and bat boxes, how to address light coming on to the forest floor, how to address ground conditions… the list goes on…

All this is before the sample results are eDNA (Environmental DNA) tested! I’m new to eDNA testing but basically eDNA analysis is a technique that makes it possible to study the prevalence of different species of organisms indirectly through the DNA they shed in the environment. Wow! Mind blown.

If that isn’t enough; Rachel’s associates not only assisted the survey, they did some balsam pulling to boot!

In other matters, we have launched a new funding campaign, I touched on this in our last post, it’s for a topographical survey. Yes, it is rather dull in so far as funding campaigns go BUT it is so very very necessary. If you can help please do https://www.goodhub.com/go/topo

I predicted June would be a good month, July is shaping up very nicely too.

More from us soon.